Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the
National Hearing Conservation Association (NHCA)
July 14, 2005

I. Alliance Background

Date Signed

June 2, 2003

Evaluation Period

June 2, 2004 – June 1, 2005

Overview

OSHA's Alliance with NHCA focuses on preventing noise induced hearing loss in the workplace. In addition, the organizations are using their collective expertise to help advance a culture of good hearing health by developing and implementing Hearing Conservation Programs (HCPs) and Hearing Loss Prevention Programs (HLPPs) while sharing best practices and technical knowledge.

In addition to these formal meetings, the Alliance coordinators from both groups maintained regular contact throughout the reporting period to monitor the Alliance’s progress and results.

III. Results

Events and Products

Training and Education Goal

Develop training courses on noise and hearing loss prevention, including a "Train the Trainer Course" for toolbox talks and a program for vocational school populations.

- No products or resources have been developed to meet this Alliance goal.

Outreach and Communication Goals

Create and update electronic assistance tools for OSHA’s Web page that address noise and hearing conservation for general industry, construction and maritime.

Products

OSHA Safety and Health Topics pages

Representatives from the OSHA-NHCA Alliance serve on the editorial boards for the following OSHA Safety and Health Topics pages: Noise and Hearing Conservation and Construction – Noise and Hearing Conservation. These pages are maintained as a product of the OSHA-NHCA Alliance. Please see the addendum for a list of the NHCA members that are serving on the editorial boards.

OSHA eTool

Representatives from the OSHA-NHCA Alliance assisted in the development of OSHA’s Noise and Hearing Conservation eTool that was posted on the OSHA Web site January 2005. NHCA representatives are serving on the eTool’s editorial board and are maintaining the eTool as a product of the OSHA-NHCA Alliance. Please see the addendum for the NHCA members that are serving on the editorial board for the Noise and Hearing Conservation eTool.

Collect, promote and share information on NHCA members’ best practices, as jointly determined by OSHA and NHCA, with others in the occupational health and safety and hearing health care professions through outreach by NHCA and OSHA.

No products or resources have been developed to meet this Alliance goal.

Develop a guide for hearing protection (including a matrix for hearing protection devices’ usage in various noise settings) that addresses best practices as jointly determined by OSHA and NHCA.

No products or resources have been developed for this Alliance goal.

Design model HCP/HLPPs for the construction and maritime industries.

No products or resources have been developed to meet this Alliance goal.

Work with other Alliance participants on specific issues and projects for preventing Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) that are addressed and developed through the Alliance Program.

The OSHA-NHCA Alliance is working with the National Association of Shooting Ranges (NASR), another Alliance Program participant, to develop a hearing conservation brochure on NIHL, specific to indoor shooting ranges.

Promoting the National Dialogue on Workplace Safety and Health Goals

Convene or participate in forums, roundtable discussions on HCP/HLPPs to help forge innovative ways to prevent hearing loss in the workplace.

No opportunities were available to reach this Alliance goal.

Develop and disseminate information at conferences and events, or through print and electronic media, including links from OSHA’s and NHCA’s Web sites.

The NHCA Web site features a NHCA-OSHA Alliance Web page that is updated regularly. The page includes information on OSHA’s Alliance Program and links to the OSHA–NHCA Alliance Web page. The NHCA Web page also highlights OSHA’s Noise and Hearing Conservation eTool, Safety and Health Information Bulletin (SHIB) titled "Innovative Workplace Safety Accommodations for Hearing-Impaired Workers, and Paula White Director, Directorate of Cooperative and State Programs, USDOL-OSHA, opening address at the NHCA 29th Annual Conference in Seattle, Washington and an article by the past NHCA President, Tim Bailey.

OSHA-NHCA Alliance Web Page

The OSHA-NHCA Alliance Web page on OSHA’s Web site continues to be updated with information on the products, resources, activities, events, and the Alliances milestones and successes. The Web page is updated on a regular basis. For information on the number of visits to the OSHA-NHCA Alliance Web page, please see the Alliance Program Reach table.

Print and Electronic Media

Articles on the OSHA-NHCA Alliance and the OSHA Noise and Hearing Conservation eTool have appeared in a number of printed and online publications, including OSHA’s News Releases, QuickTakes, Occupational Safety and Health Reporter, insidehealthpolicy.com, and occupationalhazards.com. For more information on the articles, please see the Alliance Program Reach.

Executive Summary

Through the Alliance Program, OSHA and NHCA have reached out to NHCA’s members and others with information, guidance, and access to training resources to help them protect employees’ health and safety, particularly by addressing issues associated with NIHL and implementing HCPs and HLPPs.

The OSHA-NHCA Alliance Web page on OSHA’s Web site features links to related documents, activities and events, products and resources, and milestones and successes. The NHCA-OSHA Alliance Web page on NHCA’s Web site features OSHA’s Noise and Hearing Conservation eTool and OSHA’s new SHIB, "Innovative Workplace Safety Accommodations for Hearing-Impaired Workers."

NHCA representatives on the implementation team helped to review and revise OSHA’s Noise and Hearing Conservation and Construction-Noise and Hearing Conservation Safety and Health Topics pages. OSHA-NHCA Alliance team members provided expert advice and review during the development of OSHA’s Noise and Hearing Conservation eTool that was launched in January 2005. The OSHA-NHCA Alliance maintains OSHA’s Noise and Hearing Conservation Safety and Health Topics pages and OSHA’s Noise and Hearing Conservation eTool as products of the Alliance. Please see the addendum for the NHCA members that are serving on the editorial boards for OSHA’s Noise and Hearing Conservation Safety and Health Topics pages and the Noise and Hearing Conservation eTool. In addition, NHCA members reviewed and provided comments on OSHA’s SHIB "Innovative Workplace Safety Accommodations for Hearing-Impaired Workers."

Further, representatives from the OSHA-NHCA Alliance made presentations and exhibited at the 2005 NHCA Annual 30th Hearing Conservation Conference.

OSHA and NHCA will discuss the potential renewal of the Alliance agreement and identify opportunities to continue to provide information, guidance, and access to training resources to protect employees’ health and safety, particularly the prevention of noise-induced hearing loss and the implementation of HCPs and HLPPs.

NHCA will continue to work with the NASR to develop a hearing conservation NIHL brochure for indoor shooting ranges. Dr. Teresa Schultz, NHCA Education Director, volunteered to take the lead in developing the brochure because of her expertise and background as a competitive shooter.

NHCA representatives will continue to serve on the editorial boards for OSHA’s Noise and Hearing Conservation and Construction-Noise and Hearing Conservation Safety and Health Topics pages and eTool. In addition, NHCA will also review and provide comments on OSHA documents as requested.